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Friday, March 18, 2011

A Walk in The Mossy Forest @ Cameron Highlands

As the name suggests, this is an unusual forest. Situated just a few minutes' drive from the summit of Gunung Brinchang, the off beaten path was barely noticeable!

When the Teo family booked the tour, it was under the impression that we are going for a leisure trek. Look at the bloody picture! It was an upward climb; no doubt an ominous start...

The floor looked like it was solid ground but it is really not. Made up of composts, the decomposed organic matter was actually quite 'bouncy'. It was a weird feeling stepping on it throughout the entire trek!

Seriously, i would not have subject my parents to this torture if i know it's going to be so energy draining. Thankfully, both parents were well-equipped that day.

No warning sign, no protective fence. One step missed could mean a few hundred meters of rolling down the mountain. And I am stunned to see children running around!

This was a more leveled area and it's easier to appreciate nature when you are not in a rush to push and overcome your physical limits due to a ten kilo weight gain over 5 years.

A water pitcher plant that is very common in the forests of Cameron Highlands. Mom said it is also called Monkey Cup since monkeys drink water that accumulates in the container-like plant.

Another upward climb! Throughout the journey, there were occasions i can almost feel that i am going to drop off the precarious edge.

The thin tree trunks and branches are the only support we have to balance ourselves. At times, they were used to break a fall. Being acrophobic, i should give myself a pat on my shoulder for such bravery to through this 'nightmare'!

Green moss was everywhere, befitting the name given to this forest.

With the sunlight peeping through the clouds that enveloped the trees, the whole place looked like fairies will suddenly jump out and start playing amongst themselves.

Yet another picture of the green moss!

One bad thing about compost is that it absorbs water most of the times and releases them when humans step on it. Not exactly fantastic when i was wearing my favourite pair of shoes!

Vines were used sometimes; out of desperation. Most of us are not Tarzans.

This was the mystical view i caught in the midst of the tiring walk. So beautiful that i might even consider migrating to Cameron Highlands instead of Dali, Yunnan!

Imagine the look on my face when i came to the end of our cool jungle trek; a three meters cliff!! And the only support? The poor, tiny tree that has unfortunately grown in the middle of the cliff.

I was the second last tourist to descend and managed to take this picture. Do you know what are they thinking? Nonchalance? An evil thought that someone is going to fall and badly injure themselves? Actually, there were a lot of words of encouragement.

There weren't any safety advisories from the tour guide (unacceptable if you ask me). Thankfully two male tourists were on-hand to help and ensure safety.

The end result of the trek; muddy shoes!!! And this was after massive scrapping!

A bottle of water, a piece of super sweet fruit cake and a chocolate muffin from gardenia were on hand to curb the hunger pangs; another repercussion of the walk!=====

We do enjoy the walk in mossy forest, despite the uncertainties on our fate. Being tropical urbanites, this is definitely special and is worth its value as an educational trip. First Part of the Nature Discovery Tour can be found HERE.